AVERAGE WEEKLY IN-PERSON-ONLY WORSHIP ATTENDANCE
Megachurches: 4,499 (37 churches)
Emerging Megachurches: 1,088 (43 churches)
Large Churches: 591 (38 churches)
Medium Churches: 320 (54 churches)
Small Churches: 137 (74 churches)
Very Small Churches: 49 (68 churches)
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AVERAGE WEEKLY IN-PERSON + ONLINE WORSHIP ATTENDANCE
Megachurches: 6,424 (37 churches)
Emerging Megachurches: 1,430 (43 churches)
Large Churches: 712 (38 churches)
Medium Churches: 370 (54 churches)
Small Churches: 162 (74 churches)
Very Small Churches: 55 (68 churches)
76% of the churches reported online worship attendance numbers
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TOTAL ATTENDANCE GROWTH RATES (2022 TO 2023)
Megachurches: 12.0%
Emerging Megachurches: 25.2%
Large: 14.4%
Medium: 11.6%
Small: 8.5%
Very Small: 9.0%
Overall: 13%
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TOP 3 FASTEST-GROWING CHURCHES (2022-2023)
Megachurches:
44.0%: Pantano Christian Church, Tucson, AZ
30.3%: Parkview Christian Church, Orland Park, IL
29.6%: Redemption Christian Church, Jasper, IN
Emerging Megachurches:
347.3%: Fortville Christian Church, Fortville, IN
73.6%: Hill City Church, Boise, ID
63.9%: The Hills Church, Evansville, IN
Large:
63.6%: First Christian Church, Warsaw, IN
43.8%: Norwin Christian Church, North Huntingdon, PA
31.3%: New Hope Christian Church, Roanoke, VA
Medium:
106%: Cornerstone Christian Church, Lincoln, NE
52.1%: Venture Christian Church, Katy, TX
30.3%: Novesta Church of Christ, Cass City, MI
Small:
56.5%: Church of Christ Greater New Orleans, St. Bernard, LA
38.2%: Oak Park Christian Church, Grover Beach, CA
36.1%: Faith Christian Church, New Philadelphia, OH
Very Small:
67.3%: First Christian Church of Tyrone, Tyrone, GA
42.9%: North Baltimore Church of Christ, North Baltimore, OH
39.1%: Mt Bethel Christian Church, Limestone, TN
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EASTER VS. CHRISTMAS EVE ATTENDANCE
- Easter Total Attendance: 626,700 (311 churches reporting)
- Christmas Eve Total Attendance: 598,893 (301 churches reporting)
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TOTAL BAPTISMS
(categorized by total attendance)
Megachurches baptized 21,218 people, an average of 573 baptisms per church.
Emerging Megachurches baptized 3,721 people, an average of 87 baptisms per church.
Large Churches baptized 1,450 people, an average of 38 baptisms per church.
Medium Churches baptized 1,187 people, an average of 22 per church.
Small Churches baptized 840 people, an average of 11 baptisms per church.
Very Small Churches baptized 241 people, an average of 4 baptisms per church.
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BAPTISM RATIOS
(number of baptisms per 100 in average weekly worship attendance)
Megachurches: 8.2
Emerging Megachurches: 6.0
Large: 5.4
Medium: 5.9
Small: 7.1
Very Small: 6.2
Overall: 6.5
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TOP BAPTISM RATIOS
Megachurches:
14.9: Journey Christian Church, Apopka, FL
14.4: Compass Christian Church, Chandler, AZ
14.4: Valley Real Life, Greenacres, WA
Emerging Megachurches:
13.5: The Church at Mt. Gilead, Mooresville, IN
10.8: Victory Christian Church, Franklin, IN
10.8: Whitewater Crossing Christian Church, Cleves, OH
Large:
15.4: Christ’s Church—Ft. Wayne, Ft. Wayne, IN
10.7: Current: A Christian Church, Katy, TX
9.0: Crosspoint Christian Church, Cape Coral, FL
Medium:
21.2: Potomac Valley Church, Dumfries, VA
19.5: First Christian Church, Monticello, KY
11.8: Northfield Church of Christ, Fort Dodge, IA
Small:
31.5: Cross Culture Church, Aurora, CO
23.8: Emmaus Church, Burlington, ON, Canada
20.0: Real Life Christian Church, Bend, OR
Very Small:
30.8: Greenwood Christian Church, Greenwood, MO
24.0: North Baltimore Church of Christ, North Baltimore, OH
23.1: Peeled Oak Christian Church, Owingsville, KY
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BUCKS SPENT PER BAPTISM
(based on total giving in most recent fiscal year)
Megachurches: $13,842
Emerging Megachurches: $31,381
Large: $35,415
Medium: $35,598
Small: $27,592
Very Small: $31,680
Overall: $15,956
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LEAD MINISTER AVERAGE AGE
Megachurches: 49.9
Emerging Megachurches: 48.8
Large: 53.0
Medium: 51.8
Small: 50.7
Very Small: 59.2
Overall: 52.6
* 29% of lead ministers were 60 or older
* 16% of lead ministers were 65 or older
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OLDEST VS. YOUNGEST LEAD MINISTER
Dylan Bjorkland, Christview Christian Church, Winchester, KY: 28 years old
Palma Bennett, Mt. Bethel Christian Church, Limestone, TN: 88 years old
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LEAD MINISTER AVERAGE TENURE
Megachurches: 12.1 years
Emerging Megachurches: 10.3 years
Large: 13.4 years
Medium: 11.1 years
Small: 9.7 years
Very Small: 9.9 years
Overall: 10.8 years
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STAYING POWER AWARD
(number of years served as lead minister at current church)
Megachurches: Cam Huxford, Compassion Christian Church, Savannah, GA—39 years
Emerging Megachurches: Jeff Faull, The Church at Mt. Gilead, Mooresville, IN—35 years
Large: Roger Ferguson, Clifton Christian Church, Clifton, CO—43 years
Medium: David Simpson, Lanier Christian Church, Gainesville, GA—47 years
Small: Bob Stevens, Allensburg Church of Christ, Lynchburg, OH—40 years
Very Small: Jerran Jackson, Clarksburg Christian Church, Clarksburg, IN—44 years
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AVERAGE START DATE OF CHURCH
Megachurches: 1965
Emerging Megachurches: 1947
Large churches: 1944
Medium churches: 1942
Small Churches: 1942
Very Small Churches: 1927
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CHURCH LOCATIONS
An older residential area in the city (> 50,000 people): 10%
A downtown or central area of the city (> 50,000): 7%
A newer suburb around the city (> 50,000): 14%
An older suburb around the city (> 50,000): 19%
A city of 10,000 to 49,999, or in an area where a city of that size serves as a hub: 19%
A small town or rural community (< 10,000): 31%
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CHURCH LOCATIONS (BY STATE)
37 states represented plus 2 Canadian provinces.
- Ohio: 49 churches
- Indiana: 34 churches
- Kentucky: 27 churches
- Illinois: 22 churches
- Florida: 16 churches
- Missouri: 15 churches
- Georgia: 13 churches
- Michigan: 12 churches
- Virginia: 10 churches
- Arizona, Iowa, Tennessee, Washington: 9 churches each
- Kansas: 8 churches
- North Carolina: 7 churches
- California, Colorado, Nebraska: 6 churches
- Idaho, Oklahoma, Oregon: 5 churches
- South Dakota: 4 churches
- Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas, West Virginia: 3 churches
- New Mexico, Nevada, Utah: 2 churches
- Arkansas, Connecticut, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Maryland, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Wyoming: 1 church
- New Brunswick and Ontario, Canada: 1 church
What are the estimated number of congregations that did not report?